


Not Your Average Mid-Life Crisis

by TheSilverHunt3r



Category: Naruto
Genre: ANBU - Freeform, Anbu Hatake Kakashi, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Gen, Hatake Kakashi Is Trying, Hatake Kakashi is a Good Teacher, Hatake Kakashi is a Troll, Hatake Kakashi-centric, Hokage Hatake Kakashi, Missing-Nin, Past, There are some deaths that are a bit dark, Violence, mentions of characters, so warning about that
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 09:21:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22847839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSilverHunt3r/pseuds/TheSilverHunt3r
Summary: Summary: After waking up in a different world and realizing he's gone rogue with Itachi Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake just kind of rolls with it. Missing-nin Kakashi AU.
Relationships: Dai-nana-han | Team 7 & Hatake Kakashi, Haku & Momochi Zabuza, Haruno Sakura & Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura & Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi & Momochi Zabuza, Hatake Kakashi & Namikaze Minato, Hatake Kakashi & Orochimaru, Hatake Kakashi & Uchiha Itachi, Hatake Kakashi & Uchiha Obito, Hatake Kakashi & Uchiha Sasuke, Hatake Kakashi & Uzumaki Naruto, Namikaze Minato & Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Itachi & Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 94
Kudos: 744





	1. These Trials make Us who We Are

Summary: After waking up in a different world and realizing he's gone rogue with Itachi Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake just kind of rolls with it. Missing-nin Kakashi AU.

I. These Trials make Us who We Are

Land of Fire

Kakashi blinked, drowsy, as the morning light hit his eyes. He groaned and rolled over. From a young age, he always got up at the crack of dawn, unless he was out cold due to chakra exhaustion.

He had been drinking like an alcoholic the night before. Why didn't he have a hangover?

The thought struck through the early morning haze of his mind.

He wasn't tied up. He was sleeping in the same position as before. His left eye hurt, sore and numb as if overused.

He reached out blindly, his fingers hitting a sword. He ran his finger down the scabbard. It wasn't ornately made; but simple and practical as any shinobi's weapon should be. Kakashi knew this weapon better than any other. It was his birthright: the Hatake Clan's White Chakra Blade.

It had broken during. . . that mission.

This had to be an illusion. Obito's Sharingan was the best bet at dispelling it.

He opened his eyes and poured chakra into the Sharingan. Strangely, his left eye was not covered.

Images of Obito's death, both times, flashed into his mind. It burned; his left eye burned. It was the same feeling of when he had unlocked the Mangekyou Sharingan after Rin's death.

He still held the scabbard of the White Chakra Blade in his hand.

Nothing around him seemed to change.

He pulled himself toward the pond of water nearby and peered into it.

Kakashi hissed in relief as the pain subsided.

Blood ran down from his half-closed left eye; its Mangekyou Sharingan pattern was different. Kakashi's feet were covered in red, as if he had been wading through a stream of blood. His hair was long and shaggy. The biggest difference though was that the hitai-ate over his forehead had a slash through the stylized leaf, Konoha's symbol.

He put down the White Chakra Blade.

This had to be an illusion, so he tried other methods.

He cast Kai. He pulled out his weapons pouch—all of the contents were different than he remembered—and nicked his side with a kunai to be sure. The blood and pain were a sure sign that this wasn't an illusion. So what was going on? He was a missing nin? He'd just gotten his Mangekyou Sharingan and it was different?

He stopped putting chakra towards the Sharingan and it deactivated. Which made no sense, as he wasn't an Uchiha. With the Sharingan deactivated, it just looked like he had two, perfectly normal black eyes. He couldn't even feel it draining his chakra like his eye, Obito's eye, did.

Kakashi slid his tongue along the roof of his mouth. There was something on the back part of it, a seal. He lowered the face-mask, opened his mouth, and tilted his head, trying to get a good look at the seal on his tongue.

It was the ROOT Seal.

Well. F*ck. Of course it was.

He had probably left Konoha only a little while ago if he was still alive. Otherwise, Danzou would have killed him already. He needed to make a counter-seal. He needed to make a counter-seal now. Figuring out what was going on was only possible if he survived today.

Kakashi wiped away the blood dripping down his cheek. He rummaged around his weapon's pouch and his clothing. He found lots of hidden weapons, but the most important were diagrams of various seals. One of the seals was the ROOT seal and the rest were seals containing various elements and ideas of what he needed to counter different parts of the ROOT Seal.

He went to work on making his own seal based off. . . this world's version of him's ideas? It was a bit odd how quickly he was adapting to this idea, but he had no other explanations.

Kakashi scattered some traps around the area before continuing to work.

"How is the seal coming along, Kakashi-senpai? Is his eye fine?" The voice was higher than Kakashi last heard it, but still all too recognizable. The teenager had black hair and black eyes, and wore a grey cloak. His face was unmistakable, despite not being an adult.

"Itachi-kun," Kakashi muttered. He couldn't help the quick look towards the sky, reminded by the appearance of his former ANBU teammate. "It's going well," he said casually.

Alternate world, or Tsukuyomi. Those were his two options. There was no red moon or red sky. Alternate world it was.

"How are things going on your end?" Kakashi asked. He still was avoiding looking directly at Itachi, now keeping his eyes on the papers in his hands.

"I redirected our teammates again. I also got some food." Itachi tossed a sealing scroll to Kakashi. "Judging from the response, we have an hour and fifty minutes before ROOT tracks us down or thirty seven minutes until Danzou kills us."

Kakashi caught the scroll and put it in the ground for later. Also ignored and put elsewhere was everything else. "That last part is delightful," he sarcastically replied.

He needed to prioritize. Seal crisis first, then figure out why Itachi is with him, then just what was going on with him being a missing-nin, then scream into the forest about this bullsh*it situation.

Kakashi caught a glimpse of Itachi's back as the teenager slid down a tree and started setting a wire trap to add to the defenses around their temporary camp.

The ANBU must be closer than Itachi wished despite rerouting them.

"Actually." Kakashi paused and then decided to throw caution to the wind. "I am curious. How can I deactivate the Sharingan?"

"You're not Uchiha. But we have a method for transplanting that a few of our clan know." Itachi's expression flickered; like the gentle surface of a pond being disturbed by a stone. "Or, knew," he quietly murmured.

Kakashi continued to work as he digested the information; it must already be after the Uchiha Massacre then. Pretty soon after, considering Itachi's visible grief. "My apologies for bringing it up." His eye was a new thing, or Itachi would have been surprised at the question.

"It's. . . fine."

Itachi set the new trap and then came to join Kakashi by the water. The two quickly poured over things together and came up with a counterseal they both had some confidence in. As Itachi only had basic sealing knowledge, Kakashi was the one deciding on the finer points of the seal.

"Captain, I should be-"

Kakashi cut Itachi off. His eyes narrowed and his ANBU Captain voice came out. "I'll try it," he insisted. "If there's not a problem, then I'll go ahead and put it on yours."

Itachi sighed. He knew there was no arguing with Kakashi when the man got like this. He turned his back to give Kakashi privacy; he didn't know why the man kept his face covered and it was none of his business.

In case he accidentally blew up—as oftentimes was the case with experimental sealing jutsu coming into contact with other seals—Kakashi moved to the other end of the clearing and painted it on himself. He had found chakra activated ink in his weapons pouch so this world's Kakashi had definitely prepared to attempt nullifying the seal.

Kakashi hated this. Not because he was in a situation he didn't know anything about, but because it was really hard to paint a seal on your own tongue.

Kakashi put down the brush. It was a good sign that he hadn't died while drawing it and now came the big test. He channeled a little bit of chakra into seals and. . .nothing happened. He couldn't help the smirk that came across his face. "Done, and with six minutes to spare," Kakashi announced.

Itachi's eyes still seemed hollow, but he looked a bit better after receiving the news.

Kakashi drew the seal on Itachi's tongue and that was a lot quicker than his attempt, as he could actually see what he was doing. He avoided looking at the rest of Itachi, just focusing on drawing the seal. "Test it."

Itachi nodded. A small smile edged its way onto his solemn face.

The counter-seal they had made worked.

Kakashi took a moment to mourn his inability to retire. He had been so close; Naruto would have taken over as Hokage tomorrow. Now he had somehow drawn Danzou's attention, had gone on the run with Itachi, and had recently acquired a Sharingan. He sighed and quickly packed everything into storage seals. "Let's get moving." He almost put the White Chakra Blade away, then hesitated and strapped it to his back. "You're the one with an eye on things, so which way, Itachi-kun?"

XXX

With their abilities, familiarity with ANBU tactics, and Itachi's crows, it wasn't that hard for them to escape.

They camped in a tree. The thing was absurdly wide, as all the old trees in Konoha's untouched massive forest were.

Kakashi went over his supplies, aware that Itachi was watching him. He flipped through the Konoha bingo books he found. From the information he found, he definitively placed the time as the Sandaime's second reign. Based on Itachi's slip up earlier and their newly minted missing nin status, he had been too late to stop the Uchiha Massacre from happening. Somehow, he had also gotten involved in whatever happened with Itachi.

He still had a lot of things he could change however.

The Akatsuki was still out there. Orochimaru was still out there. Danzou was still back in Konoha. His teammates, both the genin and ANBU members, were back in Konoha too.

"Captain-" Itachi stopped as Kakashi looked over.

Kakashi let out a small chuckle. "I'm not exactly your captain anymore, Itachi-kun."

"Kakashi-senpai, are you okay?"

Kakashi calmly responded, with a composure he wasn't feeling in the slightest, "Are you okay?"

"No."

Kakashi nodded. "That's normal. Especially with stuff like this." He let the silence stretch out as he counted his kunai and noted any issues with their condition. He knew what Itachi had done, despite not being there. He felt the raw and irritated skin around his eye, not from overuse but from an eye-transplant. "Forgive me if I'm feeling a bit forgetful, but whose eye was I given?"

"Shisui. My cousin," Itachi said, clipped and pained.

From how Itachi responded, it wasn't something he had told this world's Kakashi. "Where is his other eye?" Kakashi almost bashed his head against the ground at the question. Sometimes he cursed his inane curiosity.

"Danzou," came the hiss.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. So that's where Shisui's other eye ended up? That'd be a challenge later down the road if not properly handled. "I'm sorry for your loss. I know you were close."

Itachi was not curled into a ball, but he gave off the same aura. He was stiff and his chakra, muted though it was, dipped even lower.

Kakashi sealed his stuff away and jumped into the other branch. If Itachi didn't want to talk about his emotional issues—something both Uchiha brothers have in common—Kakashi could still provide some silent company. He slung an arm around Itachi's shoulders and stayed there.

The two of them were sweaty and dusty and tired from running all day. They were close to leaving the Land of Fire.

"Where are you going to go after this?"

Kakashi would have missed Itachi's whispered question if he wasn't straining his ears for the sound of anyone moving around them. "Hmm. I don't know." He really couldn't help the vagueness, not just because he enjoyed being cryptic. It was that he literally had no solid game plan. "Why?"

There was a long silence from Itachi.

"Do you want to come with me?" Kakashi refused to break the awkward silence. He didn't look at Itachi either, just keeping his gaze towards the sunset. He didn't want to pressure the teenager.

"If you want me, at least for a bit."

"I'd be happy to have you stick around, Itachi-kun." Kakashi eye-smiled.

XXX

Land of Rivers

Living up to its name, they ran into about five rivers in an hour. The frequency was to the point that it was somewhat ridiculous. Fortunately, they were easily jumped with the help of the pine trees everywhere.

They slowed their pace once they were safely out of the Land of Fire. It gave them some time to breathe, and talk.

Itachi managed to stay beside Kakashi, despite being shorter. "Kakashi-senpai, you've been a lot less. . ."

"Less what?"

". . .reserved," Itachi put it delicately.

Kakashi snorted softly. "So are you," he pointed out calmly. He walked on while Itachi floundered behind him for a few moments. This Itachi was far less unguarded and thick skinned than he would grow up to be; teasing him was quite fun.

XXX

Once they got closer to a town, they changed into a clean set of clothes. They didn't bother with a cover story or false identification, as this town was too small to care much about those wandering through.

Kakashi snuck out at night. He wanted a drink. The local bar was also a perfect place to pick up information.

He wasn't ready for the gossip however. Why? Because the Uchiha massacre was two days ago.

What the h*ll.

The Uchiha Massacre wasn't just recent. . .Itachi had just done it two days ago.

His fingers turned numb as he pressed his fingertips against the cold glass.

They had just done it. . . hadn't they?

Kakashi sipped at the rest of the drink, resisting the urge to just down the thing and leave. He finished his drink, paid, and went back to the inn.

XXX

They traveled north-west into the Land of Rivers. Kakashi and Itachi laid false trails to further confuse anyone following them.

They set up camp and traps in the wilderness before they began to train. Training was part of a ninja's daily life; it kept them fit and sharp.

It took a long time for Itachi to succumb to his curiosity. "Where are we heading?"

"West into the Land of Wind, and maybe later to the Land of Stone." Kakashi shrugged.

"Why?"

"Draw a map."

Itachi did as requested. He handed the stick he had used to draw the dirt map to Kakashi.

Kakashi pointed to the large country west of the Land of Fire and drew a line between the two. "Konoha has a peace treaty with Suna. They will be watching for us. Because they are watching for us and Konoha knows I know that, they didn't think we would head to the Land of Rivers or the Land of Wind." Kakashi drew x's over three smaller countries between Konoha and the big country to the north, "They will be waiting for us in Takigakure, Amegakure, and Kusugakure to stop us from getting into the Land of Earth. So we won't go there, yet at least." He meaningfully tapped a small country between the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind, the Land of Stone. "Make sense?"

Itachi nodded carefully, eyes glued to the map as he figured out the game Kakashi and those in charge back in Konoha were playing. "Thank you for the explanation, Kakashi-senpai."

XXX

By the next time Konoha updated their bingo book, the search for them had started to die down. Now, the search for them by bounty hunters and their own bounty hunting had just begun.

With other ninja trying to get the drop on them, they needed to be cautious, but it was a perfect opportunity to go hunting for those other ninja.

Red pants, no shirt, grey hair, and a scythe with three red blades.

Kakashi was not looking forward to this fight. He signaled Itachi with hand signs to distract and start casting illusions.

Hidan was attacked with a hail of kunai. He sprang back, into a wire trap that he quickly cut before it became a problem. Because of the attack, he didn't notice the illusion that was slowly being layered around him. He lashed out with his weapon and Itachi dodged. The sharp blades dug into the soft pinewood.

With his enemy's weapon extended and unaware of the danger behind, Kakashi sprung forward. Shiden crackled to life in his hand and sprung out in controlled spikes.

The purple lightning was unrelenting as it cut Hidan up. He had just enough time to curse vehemently at Kakashi before he lost the ability to speak. Hidan was in pieces: two arms, two legs, the chest, and the head, neatly divided from each other.

Kakashi merely grinned underneath his mask. He already had the chest sealed after cutting it into half. He started on the legs.

Itachi used Shunshin and quickly came over to seal the arms.

Unfortunately, the ones they were using were the body scrolls for the bounties they were trying to collect, so Kakashi would need to make some new ones.

"Different scrolls for the arms," Kakashi advised. He diced the head into tenths. It paid to be overly cautious and the head was the most dangerous section. Each part was still full of chakra and the wounds cauterized from the lightning; as they were still alive, even now, he could not seal them into body scrolls.

Kakashi spread the pieces out and used Trapping Skill. Deep, thin holes formed under each piece and were then covered up. He shook a handful of pine needles over each hole and patted it down to give a natural appearance.

Hidan would eventually die, sooner or later.

Kakashi pulled a book out of the seal on the inside of his weapons pouch. He flipped a page or two over and scratched a line through the list of names.

XXX

A Few Months Later

Itachi breached the idea of leaving one lazy spring sunset. "I need to check something out." His tone implied alone, despite the help Kakashi could be. The invitation was for one, and one only.

"Red clouds in a black sky?" Kakashi said, as if asking about unusual weather patterns.

"Yes."

"Be careful." Kakashi patted Itachi's head.

"I will, Kakashi-senpai. Take care of yourself."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N
> 
> Jutsu:
> 
> * Trapping Skill/Torappingu no Jutsu-this jutsu creates a hole in the ground and then covers the hole with dirt.
> 
> A Kakashi timetravel fix has been a plot bunny of mine for a long time.
> 
> Kakashi's Sharingan can be deactivated and look like a normal black eye, because Itachi was the Uchiha heir and knew about the secret clan method for transplanting Sharingan. That is to say, it doesn't take Uchiha blood to have full control, just there's a method of doing it that no one else eg. Rin, Orochimaru, Danzou knew about.
> 
> Itachi, Kakashi, and Hidan are all about S-Class and not Kage level. This is several years before Naruto even becomes a genin. And the point of this fight isn't to show off a future villain or any of Hidan's capabilities. None of the Akatsuki have plot armor and Kakashi is not going to let any of them live if he can help it.
> 
> Supposedly, the only thing that Hidan is supposed to die from is lack of nutrition according to the wiki.
> 
> My thanks to auroracode and an_actual_ocean for all of their help with this story.
> 
> -Silver


	2. We're Motivated by the Scars that We're Made Of

Summary: After waking up in a different world and realizing he's gone rogue with Itachi Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake just kind of rolls with it. Missing-nin Kakashi AU.

II. We're Motivated by the Scars that We're Made Of

Land of Stone

Kakashi couldn't summon his dogs before Itachi left. They would know something was off about him immediately and could easily blow his cover of being this world's Kakashi.

He decided to be cautious. He bit his thumb and used the blood to summon only one of his dogs.

There was a puff of smoke and a small dog with floppy ears stared up at him. "Boss?"

"Hey, Pakkun. It's been a while so I thought I'd check in." Kakashi casually drawled.

"We're fine?" Pakkun broke the awkward silence with another question, "By the way, do you remember when Shiba, Geruko, and Akino started badgering Uhei about his bandages?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "You mean the time you guys destroyed a sweet shop and I stopped letting you wander off in Konoha alone?" The reply came out instinctively.

Pakkun's eyes widened. His tag started wagging. "You're our Boss."

Kakashi smiled. "You guys got dragged along with me, huh? Sorry about that."

Pakkun bristled for a minute. "Boss, we'd all rather be stuck here with you, than wondering where you went."

"Ah." Kakashi paused. He never got used to such sentiments. "Thank you," he said softly. "I should probably call the other guys, shouldn't I." He grinned as he bit his thumb.

Kakashi almost regretted summoning the rest of his dogs, as he was squashed under nine, excited furry bodies.

XXX

Kakashi's training grew even harder now that he could focus on what he needed to brush up on and not tailor to what Itachi could keep up with.

He desperately needed this training. Kakashi needed to build his strength, his speed, his skill with every weapon in his arsenal, his proficiency with the most useful ninjutsu he remembered, his knowledge of sealing. . . . And most importantly, he needed the bigger chakra pool that he had by the time he became Hokage, or even what he had during the Great Shinobi War.

Currently, his body was younger and less powerful, but he was bringing an extra few decades of experience on the mental side. He had to make sure he was ready to face down the threats to him, to his family, and to Konoha.

XXX

Three Years Later

Kakashi made a list of stuff to do, not a kill list (he already had one), but general meddling that needed to be done. Dealing with the more problematic Jinchuurikis and biju were at the top of that to do list.

The next thing he did was get a haircut—long hair was a liability in fights—and then he went clothes shopping; all of the clothes he had were worn out from training. He got a few new undershirts, some pants, and a long dark overcoat. A long red scarf caught his eye, so he bought that as well.

XXX

Near Sunagakure, Land of Wind

Kakashi was training, climbing the sandy peaks outside the village. Instead of using chakra to glue himself to the wall, he spread his chakra out through his hands to keep the shifting debris around his holds solid. This exercise trained his physical strength and chakra control.

He paused for a moment as memories from a shadow clone entered his head.

Kakashi wasn't that far out of Sunagakure, but why was Gaara out here? The reason didn't particularly matter, he guessed. He couldn't pass up this chance.

He summoned two of his dogs. Uhei was the most gentle with children and Akino who was usually pretty passive in general. He sent them off to play with Gaara and lead the child deeper into the mountains; it'd be better to interact without other interruptions.

Kakashi could almost swear Gaara was smiling, despite the tear marks still running down the child's face. "Yo," he greeted.

Gaara stiffened, unsure. He had humongous bags under his eyes, from loss of sleep. His spiky red hair needed a haircut.

"Gaara, I need to have a talk with the," Kakashi hesitated before hedging," . . .friend inside you. Is that okay?"

Gaara's eyes turned scared and wary. Everyone who knew about the thing inside of him disliked him.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt you. It won't hurt you. I'm trying to help you," Kakashi soothed. "Is that okay?"

Gaara buried his face into Akino's fur but nodded.

"Good. I'm going to need you to look at me. Okay?" Kakashi waited for Gaara.

The child kept his arms around the dog but lifted his head.

Kakashi activated his Sharingan and dove straight into Gaara's mind. He was not surprised to find that the child's mindscape was a desert. Sand rumbled underneath Kakashi's feet as the One-Tail Biju stood up.

As usual, Shukaku was massive. The beast had dark blue patterns that curled over its skin.

"Hello," Kakashi chirped. "I need to talk to you."

"What do you want, human?" The chakra beast sounded bored.

Kakashi smiled. "Shukaku, we need to talk about how you've been treating Gaara-chan and about the dangers that are coming in a few years."

Once the talk was over, Kakashi dropped the sleeping Gaara back inside Sunagakure. . . . a few misunderstandings between him and Sunagakure may have happened because of that.

XXX

Land of Hot Water

Kakashi recognized that blond hair immediately. A smile curled across his face, obscured by his mask. He waited for someone to leave and sat down in their place to join the round. He spent the first few rounds of the game as more of a quiet participant, staying in until the bid got too high. And then, finally, he started playing viciously, upping the bid with blatant confidence in his hands.

Tsunade was staring at him, eyes narrowed. She knew he was cheating. She just didn't know how.

Kakashi pulled yet another pile of poker chips towards him. He was pretty confident that even Tsunade wouldn't catch him.

Konoha's ANBU were fond of playing various games, particularly poker due to its widespread popularity around all of the nations. Sometimes one had to be good at something to blend into a place; sometimes one just wanted to get some extra cash.

Of course, instead of chancing their luck, all of ANBU just learned to cheat instead. Most poker games among the ANBU were based on catching people cheating, not getting caught yourself, and figuring out how good your hand had to be in order to win. Occasionally you could cheat and make your hand ridiculous, but if you do it’s pretty obvious you’re cheating. For instance, you aren't going to pull out a hand of double aces three hands in a row without the rest of the squad getting mad and uniting against you. . . . Kakashi had still pulled out a fourth hand of two pair ace while his teammates were watching him; after that, they had refused to play poker with him for a good month.

Kakashi walked out with most of Tsunade's money and her grudging respect.

XXX

Kakashi had been practicing his water jutsu in the ocean. He let the sun and wind dry him and his clothes as he walked along the beach. Water trickled off the fish he had stringed through the gills with a piece of wire.

He spotted smoke. There was a campfire nearby? Not on the beach of course, few were stupid enough to do that, but a campfire in the nearby woods.

Kakashi spotted who owned it and simply strolled into the camp, not even looking at the two ninjas he had disturbed. He inspected the well-sized fire that was cooking a fish and four potatoes. "Mind if I use your fire? I'll share some of my catch of course."

Nukenins were freelancers, contractors, wanderers, but they had their own code of conduct. There was no need to uselessly act as enemies, even if they had been previously because of their villages. That was to say the general sentiment was, a job was the only good reason to kill another nukenin.

"Kakashi Hatake, is there a reason you're sniffing around here?" Zabuza's reply was hostile.

"Not really, Zabuza. I just got lost on the road of life." Kakashi shrugged. He started gutting the fish with his kunai, aware of Haku watching him curiously and Zabuza watching him warily. "Kid, you got a name?"

"Haku," he whispered quietly, but clearly heard by Jounin level ninja.

Zabuza glared at both of them.

Kakashi nodded as he rammed wooden sticks through each of the fish. "It's a miracle that you managed to pick up such a polite kid, Zabuza."

"What the h*ll is that supposed to mean?"

XXX

Konoha, Land of Fire

Rogue ninjas usually avoided the country they defected from, never mind the hidden village they were from. There were multiple reasons for that, mainly that they were more likely to be recognized and caught.

Kakashi found the risk of being in Konoha acceptable however. There were few people in the world who were ever able to match him in the world, and at this point in time they were either dead or too green. The only exception being Gai, but with Kakashi disguising himself as Sukea there wouldn't be a problem.

Of course, he was going to Konoha for a good reason; he wanted to check on his team.

Kakashi stared up at the mountain that sheltered Konoha's back. There were four heads on the mountain. As he suspected, it was the Sandaime's second reign.

XXX

With the glaring orange he wore and his spiky blond hair, Naruto was easy to spot. He was holding a steam bowl of instant ramen, chopsticks in hand. Naruto looked up to find an adult standing in front of him. His muscles tensed.

Kakashi crouched in front of him. "You like ramen?" He wore a brown coat and had purple tattoo marks under his eyes.

"Yeah."

"Where are the vegetables?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "I don't need vegetables."

Kakashi clucked his tongue. He shook his head, his expression completely serious. "If you want to grow up to be a big and strong ninja, you need to eat vegetables."

"You think I can be a big and strong ninja?"

"Of course," Kakashi easily replied.

Naruto was always bolstered by someone expressing belief in him. What he was sure was a ninja that he wanted to be like someday saying something like that practically put stars in his eyes.

"Alright. I've got to go now. Have a good lunch."

"Bye, mister. You too."

XXX

Sakura was holed in a public library, blocking the world out with the help of a thick history book.

"You're very hard working, you could become a good ninja with the proper training and knowledge," someone observed.

Sakura jolted, the book sliding from her hands. "Really?" The words slipped from her throat, before she understood what she was saying.

"Really." The man caught the book and put it onto the table. He patted her on the head and stood up, "I have to go, but you can borrow these as I don't need them right now."

The man was gone, surely a ninja, Sakura figured. He left what seemed to be a medical textbook and a scroll about Genjutsu. She put the history textbook back and started on her new reading material.

XXX

Sasuke sat on a tree branch. He looked just as sullen as ever.

The leaves rustled and a handful of objects fell down.

Sasuke caught them on instinct. He opened his hand to reveal. . .candies? Hard candies, made of honey. "I'm not paying for these. Or eating them."

"Do with them what you want. They're a gift."

Sasuke looked up to see the mysterious man, meeting the man's eyes. Jounin-level ninja, he estimated. "How did you know I like this?" He growled.

The man shrugged. "A little bird mentioned it."

Sasuke leaned back and almost lost his balance in the process, but the man still managed to ruffle his hair before disappearing. He irritably combed his bangs back in place and slipped the candies in his weapons pouch. Konoha Jounin were all a bit weird from what he had heard.

XXX

Kakashi laughed as he realized something about Team Seven. They were all loners, weren't they. They were all looking for somewhere to belong and people they belonged to. Perhaps that's why they ended up sticking together the way they did, even after the kids grew up and were no longer cute baby genin anymore.

XXX

There were two odd occurrences in Konoha that week.

The first was that a pair of dogs made the Tora mission impossible, harassing the cat until it ran back to its owner’s house. The dogs were figured to be ninken and assumed to be Inuzuka dogs, but the clan claimed otherwise. They remained unidentified.

The second was that Danzou received a delivery of five dozen roses from an unknown sender. The message attached to one of the bouquets was,

'I've had my eye on you for a while ;)

—Your Secret Admirer'

The bill was charged to Jiraiya.

XXX

Land of Waterfall

"So, do you want to overthrow Yagura?"

"You're insane," Zabuza replied. "With just the three of us? It'd be suicide."

Kakashi shook his head. "I disagree. We might as well try it, right?"

Zabuza didn't believe the blind optimism in Kakashi's voice at all. "What are you getting out of this?"

Kakashi spread his hands out. "Here's the deal," he cheerfully laid out, "I want him dead and the Sanbi contained safely in someone who is not a lunatic. You are free to make Kirigakure a better place, and I wish you much luck with that. "

Zabuza stared at the fire for a while, before taking the bait, ". . .What do you need?"

Kakashi smiled. "I just need you to get him to make eye-contact with me."

XXX

Kirigakure, Land of Water

The walls of the throne room were embedded with seals, mostly silencing, suppressing, and warding. It was hard to change already made seals, but rather easy to figure out how to turn them on for your benefit. The first move they made was to turn them on and make this into a private battle.

Ice mirrors circled the room. Chakra mist filled the air, making it almost impossible to sense others with chakra. Haku's senbon backed up Zabuza's sword.

Water coated the floor, acidic and full of the Sanbi's chakra.

Kakashi had been layering genjutsu over himself to make him more unnoticeable, more forgettable. He took a deep breath, smelling the three ninja in the room and where they were. Kakashi pulled his face mask back up now that he had caught Yagura's scent. A chakra clone dropped down and ran along the wall sideways, drawing Yagura's attention.

Yagura dispelled the clone easily. He turned to see Kakashi charging at him, a kunai in the man's hand.

They locked eyes and a red Sharingan burst to life. The three tomoe shifted to a Mangekyou Sharingan. It was too late for Yagura, Kotoamatsukami had already been cast.

Using this jutsu was different than any genjutsu Kakashi had ever done. He used what little Itachi and Sasuke had told him about it to manipulate Yagura's will. "Stop."

Yagura went limp, like a puppet.

"Zabuza, Haku-kun, give me a minute or two to cement this," Kakashi lied. It was inadvisable to trust other ninja like this, but he had no choice and they had enough reasons not to off him. Adding the idea that Yagura could come back and kill all of them if Kakashi was hurt was also a helpful incentive.

Zabuza grunted something.

And. . .Kakashi sensed the Sanbi move, a wisp of interest and fear towards the person clamping down on the Jinchuuriki's will. He took the chance and jumped right in Yagura's mind. Fortunately, talking to the Sanbi was pretty easy after avoiding a few tidal waves. Kakashi blinked, now back in the world of the living. "Sleep," he ordered.

Yagura laid down and closed his eyes.

It was dangerous for Yagura to keep the Sanbi, far too dangerous.

"Who do you want me to seal the Sanbi in?" Kakashi's hand was trembling, using a high level jutsu like Kotoamatsukami and then diving right into someone's mind cut out a lot of his chakra pool. His voice was completely even, however. "It's best for Jinchuuriki to start on the younger side."

Zabuza's gaze went to Haku, the only person here that would qualify. "You can't want me to-"

"Unless you want to pick out a kid out of the Academy and shove a chakra beast in them," Kakashi interrupted. "I can't promise it will be painless, but I can promise Haku-kun will survive. I have learned sealing from the best after all." He could replicate chakra beast seals, counter seals, and negating seals in his sleep. Kakashi had copied them with the Sharingan and drew them until he could do it without looking. It was a subject of intense study for him after Rin's death and the Kyuubi attack; additionally, such knowledge was a safety measure for having a team with Naruto on it. "You have five minutes to decide."

Kakashi kept an eye on Zabuza and Haku as he started drawing a large seal on the floor, after using a fire jutsu to dry the tile. This one was for the transfer, he had learned some things from the Akatsuki and Kushina's old notes.

"This brat," Zabuza growled loudly under his breath before continuing to argue with Haku.

For sealing a biju into someone, he needed an external force of chakra to pay the cost. With Kakashi not having sufficient chakra, he would need to draw the chakra from somewhere to activate the seal. Fortunately he had someone to draw the energy from that would be perfect, Yagura. He painted seals on the fallen Kage's chest and arms. A Kage level ninja was perfect, with such a large pool.

"Kakashi-san, I want to do it." Haku's mask was off, showing just how young he still was. If he was a normal ninja, he'd barely be a genin. His eyes were far more serious and deadly than Kakashi's baby genin had been.

Zabuza stood behind Haku, arms crossed and clearly unhappy with everything.

Kakashi nodded and ruffled Haku's hair. "Sit down and take off your shirt." He finished the seal on Yagura and started on Haku's arm. "Here's some free advice: the Sanbi is the most reasonable chakra beast. He shouldn't give you trouble. You are going to need to eat more as you will have a higher metabolism. And you're going to carry some more water."

Haku tilted his head in confusion at the last part. "Why?" The Sanbi had so much chakra that pulling water out of the air was simple, even though it was seawater, acidic, and couldn't be drunk.

"From what I've heard, using the Sanbi's chakra makes your mouth taste like salt," Kakashi informed. At least, that's what Rin had complained about before she died.

Haku nodded.

"I'm going to start the transfer now." Kakashi cut Yagura's palm and put it on the ground. "Give," he ordered and quickly drew the line to complete the seal.

All three seals lit up.

Yagura stayed quiet but his fingers kept twitching. His green chakra slowly draining out of him and into the floor, the ink on his skin following. Blue chakra was twined along with it, and followed along before branching off into Haku.

The chakra ink was crawling up Haku's skin, congregating at his chest. It had turned blue from the Sanbi's chakra. He clutched his chest and gritted his teeth, refusing to scream.

The seals faded into black and Kakashi used a Suiton to wipe away the ink left on the floor.

Haku was breathing heavily, but seemed fine otherwise.

The Sanbi didn't fight him at all, willingly caging itself into a new host. The lack of resistance made the move much less strenuous than it could have been.

"No mentioning your eye or who transferred the Sanbi I take it?" Zabuza asked.

Kakashi smiled. "That would be much appreciated."

The two men watched Haku for a minute. The boy created a small ball of water that folded out into the stream, dripping with the Sanbi's chakra. Haku made a face, visible because he wasn't wearing his mask; his tongue tasted like he had licked a block of salt.

Kakashi snorted at the expression. While Zabuza talked with Haku, he went over to one of the walls and negated the seal he had added to tamper with the room's sealing system. "And with this, I leave all the political ramifications to you."

"Not interested in joining Kirigakure?" As the soon-to-be Mizukage, such an offer was not impossible. The other swordsmen would support Zabuza's claim as one of them, even if he had left the village before, that he had taken down Yagura.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. . . ." He waved a hand dismissively, not even seriously considering the offer. "Too much water," he said, disappearing from sight with the combination of a Genjustu and Shunshin right before a squad of Kiri-ninja kicked down the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N
> 
> Jutsu used:
> 
> Kage Bunshin: creates a physical copy of a person.
> 
> Summoning Jutsu: used to summon whatever ninja animal the summoner is contracted to.
> 
> Kotoamatsukami: "a dōjutsu that casts a powerful yet subtle mind-controlling genjutsu on the target." For further info, check out https:// naruto.fandom.com/wiki/ Kotoamatsukami
> 
> Shunshin no justu/body flicker-" a high-speed movement technique." For more info, check out https:// naruto.fandom.com/wiki/ Body_Flicker_Technique
> 
> A mega thank you to an_actual_ocean for all the trolling ideas that are going to be spread through this fic.
> 
> If you’re going to make a case for an Akatsuki member not being killed/betraying the Akatsuki/escaping the wrath of a time traveling S-class ninja, make it soon or forever hold your peace.
> 
> -Silver


	3. We Take Our Places in the Dark and Turn Our Hearts to the Stars

Summary: After waking up in a different world and realizing he's gone rogue with Itachi Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake just kind of rolls with it. Missing-nin Kakashi AU.

III. We Take Our Places in the Dark and Turn Our Hearts to the Stars

Land of Hot Springs

Talking to Killer B involved far much more rapping than Kakashi wished. He needed a drink.

Tsunade sat at a table, a mound of chips in front of her. It looked like she had been winning for once.

Kakashi snagged a seat from himself at the table.

"Kakashi Hatake, trying to ruin my winning streak?"

"So, you're scared you'll lose?" Kakashi replied. He tilted his head to the side as he looked at her.

Tsunade glared at him.

A few minutes later, Kakashi sighed, looking at the table. "Instead of paying me, how about this, one free healing in the future."

"No," Tsunade immediately shot down.

Kakashi sighed dramatically as he raked in the mountain of chips. He was making a small fortune off of Tsunade at this point.

XXX

Land of Tea

The offer of tea was a bit ironic considering the country, but Kakashi did that on purpose. Besides, the place really did have amazing tea.

"Kakashi-senpai, you've been up to a lot over the past few years," Itachi started. He had grown taller and a bit wider, a reminder that he was quickly becoming an adult and would soon look just the same as the Itachi from the Akatsuki Kakashi knew.

"How so?" Kakashi brought over a tea tray with a few small snacks.

Itachi sighed. He started with the oldest news he had heard: "Sunagakure still wants your head for whatever you were doing with their Kage's son."

"Oh, Gaara-kun? I happened to run into him while I was training." Kakashi shrugged. He started pouring tea into two cups for them. "It was really all a misunderstanding. Any sugar or cream?" He gestured to the two small containers on the tray. As it was just the two of them, they did not bother with any sort of ceremony.

Itachi nodded and dropped a sugar cube in his cup. "Kirigakure has forbidden any of their ninja from going after you. A decision which comes on the tail of a coup against Yagura, his death, and a new Jinchuuriki no one knows the identity of."

"Ah, yes, I've heard Zabuza-kun has been doing well." Kakashi had a thoughtful look on his face until he decided, "I should go pay a visit in a few months."

Itachi's expression tightened, as did his grip on his cup. He kept his voice even as he continued, "Kumogakure has recently gone insane and flipped over most of the Land of Lightning attempting to catch you. You have ended up over here somehow, which means you likely cut through the Land of Fire on the way."

"Killer B needs to work on his rapping skills," was all Kakashi offered as a response. He lazily stirred cream into his coffee.

"Senpai, you're insane," Itachi said flatly.

Kakashi smiled and ignored the comment. "How have things been going for you? Those people you're with have been very busy in Amegakure."

"One of our promising recruits was killed by you." Itachi hesitated before adding, "You've been put on the list as a possibility instead."

Kakashi hummed. "Not interested."

"Yes, senpai, I figured." A slight smile curled onto Itachi's lips.

XXX

Land of Waves

Their jounin-sensei was slammed into the ground. Before the woman could do anything, she was dead, killed by the opposing ninja's kunai.

Sakura had her hands over her mouth.

Naruto was stunned as well.

Sasuke was the only one of them moving, long desensitized to blood and death. He deflected part of the shower of senbon directed towards them with a kunai and stepped to the side to avoid the rest of it.

The enemy kunoichi wore the hitai-ite for Kirigakure, with a slash neatly down the center. She flipped her grip on the kunai in her hand and prepared to charge forward. As a jounin, she was far faster than any genin brat. She heard something behind her and tried to sidestep the attack, but still suffered a wound to her side. The kunoichi ignored the pain and blood. She twisted around and ruthlessly stabbed the person attacking her from behind in the throat.

The attacker melted into a puddle of water; it was a water clone.

The missing-nin turned around to better see who had interfered. "Another missing-nin? Why would you get involved?" She vaguely remembered seeing something about this man, but she wasn't sure who he was.

Kakashi smiled. "I was passing by and saw a bounty I wanted. Besides, baby genin against an s-class? That's just not fair." He lunged forward. In his hands was his clan's blade, burning white with his chakra.

Sasuke dragged his teammates back, not at all gentle in manner. He could have left them—they were deadweight—but he didn't.

There was mainly water jutsu being used, due to the environment. Water clones were made and destroyed, turning the battle into one of stamina. The injured kunoichi was on the defensive, conscious of the wound in her side.

A well placed lightning clone leveraged the water on the bridge to Kakashi's advantage. He stabbed the woman in the chest with a muttered apology. The only reason she died today was that she was unfortunate in her choice of an employer.

Gato arrived in the aftermath of the battle scene. In the middle of his comments to the now gathered townsfolk and the men he had employed, he was interrupted by Kakashi's sword through his chest.

Kakashi fixed his sights on Gato's men next. "Leave, or I'll kill all of you," he threatened.

Everyone could tell he was deadly serious.

Sasuke frowned, the voice was familiar.

Kakashi turned to the Konoha genin. Sasuke and Naruto spread their legs wider, ready to fight. Sakura let a gasp.

Happy that the three were out of shock, at least temporarily, Kakashi smiled. "Do you happen to know anywhere I can get a good home cooked meal and a place to crash for the night? I'll clean myself up before I go in, of course. Where are you three staying?"

"We're staying at old man Tazuna's place. . .?" Naruto said, confused. He was immediately glared at by his teammates.

"Perfect." Kakashi almost ruffled their hair, but refrained due to the blood soaking his hands at the moment.

It took dinner and breakfast for Team Seven to warm up to him some. Or more accurately, for Naruto to trust him, Sakura to respect him, and Sasuke to view him as a mysterious non-threat.

"I'll stay with you for a while as you guys are travelling back to Konoha," Kakashi announced.

"Why?" Sasuke bluntly questioned.

Kakashi tutted in disbelief. "Really? Baby genin out in the wide world without a jounin-sensei is just asking for trouble." His tone was jovial, but his words were far from it.

They had already encountered trouble. Their jounin-sensei had been killed. This was truly a C-rank that got FUBAR (fouled up beyond all recognition).

Sakura gathered up her courage and said, "What I think Sasuke-kun means is. . .We're Konoha. You're not. Why would you help us?"

The genin did not try to resist. They weren't even Chuunin. If Kakashi wanted them dead, they would be dead. Either he had a genuine wish to help them or an ulterior motive they had no hope of stopping.

Kakashi shrugged. He would leave them to draw their own conclusions. It was easier than trying to explain time-travel, alternate universes, or what was really going on with the Uchiha Massacre.

XXX

Land of Fire

The dirt road was created by the feet of people, rather than any specific effort to create a path; as most trade routes during this time were. Small bits of vegetation struggled to live on the path; some of them were half-dead and others had small yellow buds, starting to flower in the sudden thaw from warm, spring winds from the east.

Sasuke was on point, flanked by his teammates. Behind the three genin was Kakashi, keeping an eye on the rear.

"What is the most fundamental part of being a ninja?"

The three were already getting used to Kakashi's odd questions. He didn't just want them to walk and pay attention to their surroundings, but also think at the same time, it seemed.

"Constant vigilance?" Sakura replied, unsure.

"Sharpening your skills and improving yourself," Sasuke stated.

Naruto shrugged. "Helping others? Helping your village?"

"Fair enough, all of those are part of what we do."

"But?" Sakura questioned, after a long silence.

"It wasn't what I was thinking of," Kakashi answered after a contemplative hum. "But I'll give it to you anyway, those who break the rules are trash. But those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash. That is my nindo."

Sasuke snorted, "You're a missing-nin, how do you keep to that?"

"Are you accusing me of being a hypocrite, Sasuke-chan?" Kakashi said cheerfully.

Naruto laughing, "Sasuke-chan?"

"Abandon your comrades can have lots of different meanings and applications, can't it?" Kakashi asked them, rhetorically. "As always, look underneath the underneath, baby genin."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Despite how red his ears were, he looked to be the only one of his team really thinking about Kakashi's response.

XXX

Kakashi was making dinner with them, attempting to teach how to use local herbs to season food.

Sakura was the only genin paying attention. She huffed at the two boys but didn't say anything.

"It's a shame," was all Kakashi commented.

Naruto made a face at Sasuke and cocked his head curiously. "What is?"

Sasuke whispered something under his breath.

Naruto heard and glared his teammate down.

"Ah. Well, it's a shame because of your mothers." Kakashi paused for a moment. "Your moms were Kushina Uzumaki and Mikoto Uchiha, right?"

Sasuke froze.

Naruto went silent.

Sakura looked back and forth between her two teammates.

Kakashi continued on, seeming not to notice their reactions. "Kushina-nee-san and Uchiha-san were best friends. If things hadn't gone the way they did, you two would have grown up as childhood friends." He chuckled. "I'm pretty sure they were planning out your playdates before they even gave birth."

Naruto's voice cracked as he asked, "You knew my mom?"

Kakashi hesitated and then revealed, "I was one of Kushina-nee-san's guards when she was pregnant."

Naruto stared at Kakashi, full of hope, and Kakashi caved, revealing things like Kushina's favorite types of ramen, the tilted way she wrote kanji (something that could always been seen in everyone one of her seals), and how she tied her hair up when cooking.

XXX

When they stopped for breaks, Kakashi had the genin train.

Sparring was either three on one, one vs one, or a three way fight. As for how each went: Kakashi had a lot of fun tripping and dodging the genin every time, Sasuke vs Naruto always got out of hand, and Sakura took advantage of the boys rivalry to one-up both of them.

He taught them tree walking and water walking, something which went a lot faster the second time around. He figured out how to explain the concept to the less-academically minded boys and gave tips as he sat in a tree nearby.

"Sensei," Naruto complained after he pulled himself from the stream, completely soaked. "Why are we doing this on the way back?" None of them found Naruto calling Kakashi Sensei weird; his teammates also found the word falling from their tongues.

"These are things done during d-ranks and/or your first few c-ranks, they're part of your foundation." Kakashi strolled down the side of the tree. He made it look easy, something the two boys with large chakra reserves envied. "If you want to get higher than a genin, chakra control and fighting skills are going to be your best friend."

XXX

"I want to be Hokage," Naruto blurted out in a rush. For some reason the words were harder to say to the missing-nin. The concept of 'Hokage' felt a bit more real now, and even further away in possibility.

Kakashi nodded absentmindedly. "Good. You'll have to work hard for it, but it can be done."

". . .You think I can actually do it?" Naruto leaned back instinctively as Kakashi's gaze landed on him. He understood exactly why the thugs fled the bridge after Gato died.

"Of course. If you put in the time and effort, you would make a great Hokage. You believe in people, and that trust helps them do things." Kakashi didn't say how heartbreaking it was to watch Naruto plead with Sasuke. He didn't say how heavy the burden of trust was. "That is a very good trait for a leader."

Naruto gave a small smile. It wasn't his normal smile, desperately stuffed with unearned confidence and a need to fit in. This smile was quiet and happy, the gentle warmth of the sun on a clear day.

XXX

"Genjutsu and medical jutsu for Sakura-chan. Fire and lightning justu for Sasuke-chan. Wind jutsu and wires for Naruto-chan," Kakashi listed off. "Why did I suggest what I did for Sakura-chan?"

"Because her chakra pool is low but her chakra control is. . ." Sasuke trailed off, a frown on his face as he refused to finish the thought.

"Is what?" Kakashi prompted with a knowing expression.

". . .the best out of us," Sasuke finished. He looked like he had swallowed a sour lemon, or sour truth, either way.

"Correct." Kaksashi nodded towards the boy. "Although Sasuke-chan and Naruto-chan have much more chakra, they have much less control and often waste it. Now, why did I not include other things like kunai, shuriken, exploding tags?"

"Because you assumed we would use them anyways?" Naruto

"He means, because we would all use them and so they're not unique in any way, they're expected," Sakura translated.

Kakashi ruffled Sakura's head, "There we go, that's the type of thing I want."

That was a vague statement, he didn't mean just the answers did he? Sakura and Sasuke exchanged a look. The missing-nin had never said 'act like a team', he just took actions that reinforced not acting against each other.

XXX

Kakashi dodged. If he had been slower, his hair would have been singed off by the stray fireball. Perhaps having them try a combo move was a bad idea, but this training killed about six birds-chakra control, concentration, new jutsu, better handle of fire/wind affinity, team bonding, etc.- with one stone. "Sasuke-chan, you're still doing it like it's a fireball you're just spitting out. Make your lips smaller, it'll give you more power, control, and duration."

Naruto grinned triumphantly at Sasuke.

"And Naruto-chan, try aiming a bit to the left. Remember, it's not a straight arrow, it's more. . .of a curve. Think of trying to gently push the fire in one direction, not hit it. As you've seen, that just scatters and kills it."

Naruto nodded sullenly.

Sasuke smirked at his teammate.

After a few more tries, Kakashi forced them out to practice on the stream.

"Sensei, what am I doing?" Sakura asked, feeling left out, she hadn't been given a new jutsu to practice.

"Alright, Sakura-chan. We're going to catch a rabbit. I'm not the best at it, but I do know how to use some basic medical jutsu." Kakashi had even copied some of Tsunade's techniques once or twice, but he couldn't start there; it was best to start at the beginning and give her a foundation.

Hunting did not take long. Sakura scared them from their hiding spots and Kakashi lunged forward with a kunai. Soon, they had a couple of rabbits for dinner.

Kakashi took one of them and handed it to Sakura. "Make an incision on its flank."

Sakura obeyed. She bit her lip at the sight of blood on the fur and the now visible muscle underneath.

Kakashi flipped through seals, slowing down so that Sakura could see them. A green glow surrounded Kakashi's hand. "I'll show you how to knit the skin together and then you'll get to try."

XXX

Konoha, Land of Fire

Konoha's wall appeared around the bend, made of wood from the forest and still strong despite the decades since it had been made. With the gates in sight, Kakashi said goodbye. He ruffled their hair—Sasuke tried to dodge but failed—and disappeared in a whirl of leaves from a shunshin. He wanted a head start on the ANBU who were going to be tracking him down in an hour or two.

"We never got his name," Naruto realized with disappointment.

XXX

Kirigakure, Land of Water

Kakashi unsealed the scroll to show the body of a wanted missing-nin from Kirigakure. Her body was stiff from rigor mortis and smelt horribly.

Zabuza looked up from the file in his hands and nodded. It was the right person. Undoubtedly, a Kage personally handling a bounty for a missing-nin was overkill and unnecessary, but nothing about Kakashi was normal, and little about Zabuza was. "You usually do escort missions these days, what made you go after a bounty?"

"She had killed a jounin sensei and was targeting a team of baby genin. And you know how I can't stand injustice in the world." Kakashi's voice was sarcastic, but Zabuza thought the words still had a grain of truth when it came to the man.

"Who were they?" Zabuza asked.

"Just some Konoha brats," Kakashi dismissively replied.

Zabuza knew the opposite. Kakashi had saved Team Seven, a genin team made up of a civilian born, Itachi Uchiha's little brother, and the Yondaime Hokage's son. That was not a random team. Of course, he also knew it was stupid to try forcing someone more powerful and stubborn than yourself to answer your questions. "Sure."

Kakashi turned to go and caught a movement out of his eye. He tilted his head slightly and smiled. "How are you doing, Haku-kun?"

"I am well, Kakashi-san." Haku bowed slightly in greeting, one to Zabuza and one to Kakashi. He seemed to still possess actual manners.

Kakashi still found it amazing that Zabuza's student, of all people, was so polite. "Any problems with your seal or the Sanbi?"

"None." Haku seemed happy, more happy than when Kakashi had first met him. He was gaining some lean muscle and his eyes were steady.

"That's good." Kakashi slowly reached out his hand, giving the teen Kiri-nin ample time to reject the gesture if he so wished, and gingerly pet Haku's head. He had gotten better with kids after the disaster that was Team Seven and being Rokudaime Hokage, but he would never be great with them.

"How are you, Kakashi-san?" Haku asked.

Zabuza saw that Kakashi was still moving towards the door and threw a gesture his way.

"I'm doing good." Kakashi replied with the same two-fingered salute. "My apologies for leaving so soon, but I have a playdate in Konoha to get ready for."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N
> 
> To clarify: Kakashi does not have Kamui. He does not have Obito’s Sharingan. He has one of Shisui’s eyes and therefore has Kotoamatsukami. Where Obito’s Sharingan(s) are will be revealed later.
> 
> Jutsu used:
> 
> Water Clone/Lightning Clone-variations of kage bunshin with the titular element.
> 
> Unnamed fire/wind combo move, where two people work together to use wind to control a stream of fire.
> 
> -Silver


End file.
